Special interest groups with a lack of ethics are currently making their way through the Capitol in Sacramento to lobby for the bill AB 2072. On one hand, in the legal prose, AB 2072 is about parents’ choices for their Deaf newborns. On the other hand, analyzing the jargon, it is about corporations’ eagerness to privatize human beings.

The Deaf and bilingual community have done everything by the book to save the future of Deaf newborns. They went to Sacramento to lobby politicians to oppose AB 2072. They showed up at the hearings and floor votes. They made video testimonials. They wrote articles. They called their Assemblymen and Senators to oppose the bill. They tried to meet with Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, the author of AB 2072, several times even though Mendoza repeatedly ignored them. They exhausted their options. They are educators of the Deaf, parents of Deaf children, siblings of Deaf, mental health counselors, social workers in the vocational rehabilitation field, grassroots community members, college professors, business owners, non-profit organizers, interpreters, and many more in the spectrum of the Deaf community. They knew the bill was not balanced and catered to special interest groups. The only thing they did and do not have: money.

An implanted Deaf child can generate a profit of $60,000 and up. They undergo intensive speech and audiological training before and after they get their cochlear implants. One cochlear implant costs upwards of $40,000. That does not include the training before and after the surgery. The audiologists who meet parents and diagnose their child’s hearing loss have plenty of brochures, fliers, magazines, and even CDs and DVDs on the Audio Verbal Therapy (AVT) approach.

A private school education concentrating on AVT can cost parents plenty of money. It will take years of continuous therapy to reach an acceptable degree of verbal communication, such as speaking on the telephone, ordering food at restaurants, and even simply saying “I love you.” Private institutions and companies are purposefully vague on the statistics regarding how successful (What’s success? What’s considered as an acceptable measure of success?) a child is after getting a cochlear implant.

Those private institutions and associations in the field of AVT, as well as the cochlear implant industry, along with audiologists, doctors, and other specialists stand to reap millions upon millions of profit from Deaf children if all parents opt for an oral education. These combined groups listed created a special interest group under the guise of California Medical Association (CMA), California Hospital Association (CHA), California Academy of Audiology (CAA), American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), California Speech-Language Hearing Association (CSLHA), California Coalition of six different private oral schools, and California Association of Private Special Education Schools (CAPSE, which has its own lobbying group). The California Coalition in turn is financed by giants in oral education such as Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AGB), Oberkotter Foundation, and Option Schools. Digging further, one can find out that the corporate founders of AGB are the only bigwigs in the cochlear industry in this country: Cochlear Americas and Advanced Bionics.

Those opposing AB 2072 requested an investigation of the accountability of the bill. Most of the people who make up the opposition are Deaf themselves, growing up in a community where they use ASL and work with Deaf children who are either fluent in ASL or might have been reared in the oral education approach. To this date, all of their amendments, suggestions, perspectives, and protestations were ignored. Assemblyman Mendoza has disregarded Deaf people, who know what it is like to be Deaf living in this state, and intends to provide the parents with all the options from everyone except for the collective signing community.

The AB 2072 bill was recognized as flawed, and catered to special interest groups. Despite the deaf community’s opposition it has been passing with flying colors throughout the floors of the Assembly and currently the Senate. There is only one answer to this: money.

Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, the author of the bill, was given a total of $40,800 from three associations: CMA, CHA, and AFSCME California. There are twenty senators out of thirty-nine who have received more than $30,000 in contributions each from these same special interest groups. In total a staggering $1,203,326 has been donated by the top six sponsors based on the Legislative analysis of the bill. CMA takes the lead, with $698,649 funneled into the senators’ campaign funds. The next two top players are AFSCME California with $299,900 and CHA with $147,127. It is no small wonder as to why the senate showed a lack of interest in listening to every side of this bill. It is not surprising how quickly the bill went through different committees and the floor of Assembly. These very same names that were mentioned above show up on AB 2072 as the bill sponsors.

Researching further on the Internet, one can find out that Tony Mendoza is widely regarded as a so-called "sleazy politician" for his willingness to work with those who can fund him. He is not the only one at the Capitol in Sacramento concerning himself with special interest groups. This is a disease happening everywhere in this country. We, the opposition of AB 2072, are taking a stand against this type of one-sided information. Our side is plankton facing a mammoth blue whale of corporate greed. The only thing that can set the truth free is our laws protecting freedom of speech and justice. We need to divorce the lawmakers from the medical experts with a multi-million interest in the direct exploitation of deaf babies. Now is the time to make our final stand.

__________________"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."- Helen Keller

Hmmm, they are talking about the "price of CI's" vs ASl.....but they haven't considered that an ASL user who attends a school for the Deaf costs thosands of dollars extra, from the goverment, every year (vs being mainstreamed orally) as well as the goverment and private businesses paying for hundreds of hours of interpreters every year, plus paying for VRS.....all these people are making money off Deaf people.

That doesn't seem like an honest comparsion if you don't take into account those costs....

Hmmm, they are talking about the "price of CI's" vs ASl.....but they haven't considered that an ASL user who attends a school for the Deaf costs thosands of dollars extra, from the goverment, every year (vs being mainstreamed orally) as well as the goverment and private businesses paying for hundreds of hours of interpreters every year, plus paying for VRS.....all these people are making money off Deaf people.

That doesn't seem like an honest comparsion if you don't take into account those costs....

I am very mad at the Senators and the Assembly politicians for not listening why we oppose the brochure for new parents of deaf babies. It cost a lot of money for surgery which is not health related at all. After surgery, it will cost more for devices that goes with the CI and the parents and the kids (when grown up) will have to foot to pay for batteries and other devices which I am sure they could not afford unless it is the wealthy that could afford this expensive CI. Yes, it is all about money. That is what the CI companies want to have a whole lotta money. Nothing more. Geeze, CIs is just like hearing aids. I do hope they vote against the brochure for new parents. Assemblyman Tony Mendoza is a jerk.

__________________DEAF SINCE BIRTH

Gegiibishedjig (Deaf Person)

You speak to me on lip..
I don't speak..
I sign with you..
You gesture..
I can't hear you..
You can hear me..
You can see and I can see..
-Smell, Sense, Taste, Feel and See-
Was born with broken ears..
I was not perfect, but I am used to being happy and Deaf..

I am very mad at the Senators and the Assembly politicians for not listening why we oppose the brochure for new parents of deaf babies. It cost a lot of money for surgery which is not health related at all. After surgery, it will cost more for devices that goes with the CI and the parents and the kids (when grown up) will have to foot to pay for batteries and other devices which I am sure they could not afford unless it is the wealthy that could afford this expensive CI. Yes, it is all about money. That is what the CI companies want to have a whole lotta money. Nothing more. Geeze, CIs is just like hearing aids. I do hope they vote against the brochure for new parents. Assemblyman Tony Mendoza is a jerk.

Insurance covers CI's and not hearing aids, so it is actually cheaper to get a CI.

What about the brochure is there to oppose? It is being created by a group of 15 stakeholders, 7 of which support visual language and only 5 who support oral.

Hmmm, they are talking about the "price of CI's" vs ASl.....but they haven't considered that an ASL user who attends a school for the Deaf costs thosands of dollars extra, from the goverment, every year (vs being mainstreamed orally) as well as the goverment and private businesses paying for hundreds of hours of interpreters every year, plus paying for VRS.....all these people are making money off Deaf people.

That doesn't seem like an honest comparsion if you don't take into account those costs....

Oh, the Senators and Assemblymen plus the whole government always find excuses that they are trying to save million of dollars for not providing ASL, ASL interpreters or any other necessary accommodations for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. They put us in mainstream schools so that we can suffer greatly without ASL or have a ASL interpreters. I hate that because we are suppose to be visual, not try to lipread and understand hearing people perfectly. You keep saying that we including your daughter, Miss Kat, need to listen which is impossible. It is a whole lot better visually with ASL sign language. What is wrong with that? Why are all hearing people ashame of us using the ASL for communication better than trying to lipread which sucks.

__________________DEAF SINCE BIRTH

Gegiibishedjig (Deaf Person)

You speak to me on lip..
I don't speak..
I sign with you..
You gesture..
I can't hear you..
You can hear me..
You can see and I can see..
-Smell, Sense, Taste, Feel and See-
Was born with broken ears..
I was not perfect, but I am used to being happy and Deaf..

Oh, the Senators and Assemblymen plus the whole government always find excuses that they are trying to save million of dollars for not providing ASL, ASL interpreters or any other necessary accommodations for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. They put us in mainstream schools so that we can suffer greatly without ASL or have a ASL interpreters. I hate that because we are suppose to be visual, not try to lipread and understand hearing people perfectly. You keep saying that we including your daughter, Miss Kat, need to listen which is impossible. It is a whole lot better visually with ASL sign language. What is wrong with that? Why are all hearing people ashame of us using the ASL for communication better than trying to lipread which sucks.

#1. Listening is not impossible.

Is it about money or not? First you say that CI's are expensive and they want money, and then you say that ASL is expensive and they don't want to pay for it. So, it is cheaper to be oral or ASL?

Is it about money or not? First you say that CI's are expensive and they want money, and then you say that ASL is expensive and they don't want to pay for it. So, it is cheaper to be oral or ASL?

You are not reading what I post in. I said that the government did not want to pay million of money for ASL teachers to teach ASL sign language to deaf students who need them for communication and providing them with ASL interpreters and special accommodations in the mainstream schools whether in elementary, high school and college settings. You are putting words in my mouth. Will you quit that? As for listening, you just don't understand anything. I am still mad.

__________________DEAF SINCE BIRTH

Gegiibishedjig (Deaf Person)

You speak to me on lip..
I don't speak..
I sign with you..
You gesture..
I can't hear you..
You can hear me..
You can see and I can see..
-Smell, Sense, Taste, Feel and See-
Was born with broken ears..
I was not perfect, but I am used to being happy and Deaf..

You are not reading what I post in. I said that the government did not want to pay million of money for ASL teachers to teach ASL sign language to deaf students who need them for communication and providing them with ASL interpreters and special accommodations in the mainstream schools whether in elementary, high school and college settings. You are putting words in my mouth. Will you quit that? As for listening, you just don't understand anything. I am still mad.

But the OP says that CI kids cost too much, that was the problem. But the truth is that ASL and interpreters cost the goverment (so each person) LOTS of money, just like you said. It is not honest to say that CI's are expensive and imply that ASL isn't.

We will never agree about listening. I see EVERY SINGLE DAY that my daughter and thosands of deaf children with CI's can listen and understand spoken language without lipread. I understand that you can not, but that doesn't mean that other people can't.

Hmmm, they are talking about the "price of CI's" vs ASl.....but they haven't considered that an ASL user who attends a school for the Deaf costs thosands of dollars extra, from the goverment, every year (vs being mainstreamed orally) as well as the goverment and private businesses paying for hundreds of hours of interpreters every year, plus paying for VRS.....all these people are making money off Deaf people.

That doesn't seem like an honest comparsion if you don't take into account those costs....

I already took these costs in, and it's cheaper to send the kid off to residential school by far.

I prefer deaf children be happy and thriving than suffering for the sake of saving taxpayers' dollars.

That is what is the most important thing for deaf children is to be happy, not to suffer in the mainstream school without ASL or any of the accommodation like I did back in the old days. I don't want to have them go through like I have been going through in both elementary and high school. It sure is hell. I was not happy back then. So right on the button, Shel.

__________________DEAF SINCE BIRTH

Gegiibishedjig (Deaf Person)

You speak to me on lip..
I don't speak..
I sign with you..
You gesture..
I can't hear you..
You can hear me..
You can see and I can see..
-Smell, Sense, Taste, Feel and See-
Was born with broken ears..
I was not perfect, but I am used to being happy and Deaf..

I agree. I think that money is a BS reason to deny services for deaf kids (ASL or oral).

So now you understand why it is important for deaf children to have ASL even if they are learning to use spoken language. Not oral-only. That is why the government want to try to cut down on the cost of needed service for the deaf children which is very very important so that we can use visual better than for the deaf children to suffer trying to understand what the teachers and students said in the classroom settings. Also for the brochure, I don't want the government to paint the picture thinking the CI is sooo wonderful for the deaf child to hear clearly and all that bull**** for babies or very young children like toddlers. The children need a voice to tell us if they want to have CI or not, not force them to use CI without the permission of the child. They have a right to their bodies, not the parents. I would not like to be force, if I was a baby, like that which is terrible. There is nothing wrong with being deaf which I have repeat many times over. Good grief.

__________________DEAF SINCE BIRTH

Gegiibishedjig (Deaf Person)

You speak to me on lip..
I don't speak..
I sign with you..
You gesture..
I can't hear you..
You can hear me..
You can see and I can see..
-Smell, Sense, Taste, Feel and See-
Was born with broken ears..
I was not perfect, but I am used to being happy and Deaf..

So now you understand why it is important for deaf children to have ASL even if they are learning to use spoken language. Not oral-only. That is why the government want to try to cut down on the cost of needed service for the deaf children which is very very important so that we can use visual better than for the deaf children to suffer trying to understand what the teachers and students said in the classroom settings. Also for the brochure, I don't want the government to paint the picture thinking the CI is sooo wonderful for the deaf child to hear clearly and all that bull**** for babies or very young children like toddlers. The children need a voice to tell us if they want to have CI or not, not force them to use CI without the permission of the child. They have a right to their bodies, not the parents. I would not like to be force, if I was a baby, like that which is terrible. There is nothing wrong with being deaf which I have repeat many times over. Good grief.

I disagree with 99% of this post.

I do agree that it is crap that kids (or adults) are being denied the services (interpreters OR CI's) because of the greediness of a few (lawmakers, businesses or insurance companies).